Fusible-link device.



W. POPPENDIECK.

FUSIBLE LINK DEVICE.

urmouron FILED 111111114, 1911 Patented 11211211912.

UNITED STATESPATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM POPPENDIECK, OF CARLSTADT, NEW JERSEY, ASSIGNOR TO S. H. POMEROY,

OF NEW ROCHELLE, NEW YORK.

FUSIBLE-LINK DEVICE.

To all whom it may concern;

Be it known that I, VVILLIAM PorrnN- DIECK, a citizen of the United States, residing in Garlstadt, in the State of New Jersey, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Fusible-Link Devices, of which the following is a specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawing, forming a part hereof.

Among fire retardant devices the fusible link, included in the connections by which a door, window or shutter is held, at normal temperatures, against the action of gravity or some other force tending to move it, and operating to release the door, window or shutter so that it may be moved by gravity or other external force when the temperature rises to a degree which is indicative of fire, has now a well-established place. To meet the requirements of use such a link must possess the necessary sensitiveness to heat and it must also be capable of resisting, with a substantial margin of safety, any strain to which it may be subjected except when heated to thedegree at which it is intended to operate. As the tensile strength of metals which fuse readily is generally low, it becomes necessary, therefore, to provide means whereby the strain to which the fusible link itself is subjected in use shall be reduced without requiring the force which acts upon the door, window or shutter to be reduced. It also becomes desirable, in a device in which provision is made for the reduction of the strain on the fusible link itself,'to provide that when the fusible link operates, that is, when it fuses, there shall remain attached or connected to the chain or other connector, by which the door, window or shutter was held, no part which will prevent the free running of the chain or other connector through or over guides or guide pulleys, or otherwise interfere with the free movement of the door, window, or shutter.

It is therefore the object of this invention to produce a fusible link device which shall meet all of the practical requirements above referred to and especially to provide a device of this character by which the strain upon the fusible link shall be reduced while the construction of the device is not only simple but is such that when the link fuses there shall remain attached to the connecting chain nothing to interfere in any manner Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed June 14, 1911.

Patented Mar. 26, 1912.

Serial No. 633,197.

with the free movement of the door, window or shutter.

The invention will be more fully explained hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawing in which it is illustrated in several different embodiments and in which- Figure 1 is a view of one form of the fusible link device which is adapted to be secured to a frame or casing. Fig. 2 is a view of the supporting bracket as seen from the right hand in Fig. 1. Figs. 3 and 4 are similar views to Fig. 1, but showing devices formed of flat metal, as in the device shown in Fig. 1, but somewhat different in the provisions for connecting the window chain and for preventlng accidental dlsengagement. Figs.

5 and 6 are views in side elevation and end elevation respectively of a device made up of bent wire. Fig. 7 is a detail view of a fusible link of ordinary form.

It will be obvious, as this description proceeds, that the fusible link might form a connection between a lever arm to which the window, door or shutter is connected with a shorter leverage, and another part, of different forms, to be connected to the frame or casing, but by preference the link a is made to form a connection between two lever arms I) and 0 which are identical in shape but are reversed in position. These two lever arms are pivotally connected with each other, as at d, and, in the form of the device shown in Fig. 1, are pivoted together on a bracket e which may be secured by rivets or otherwise to the frame or casing. The lever arms are suitably formed to engage the link a and for this purpose may be formed conveniently, at the extremity, with a slotted eye I) or 0, as the case may be, such that the fusible link may be engaged therewith and yet shall not be liable to become disengaged accidentally. The two lever arms are adapted for connection to the window, door or shutter and to the relatively fixed part with a much shorter leverage than that of the fusible link connection, so that the link itself, although having comparatively slight tensile strength, shall be capable of supportin the window properly without its being subjected to excessive strain.

In the form of the device shown in Fig. 1 each lever arm is provided, on the opposite side of the pivot, with an extension or finger b 0 adapted to engage a link of the corresponding part of the chain In order to prevent the possibility of accidental disengagement of the chain from the fingers, in the construction shown in Figs. 1 and 2, the bracket 6 is formed with a lip e which is slotted, as at e and 6 to receive the fingers, so that it is impossible for the links of the chain to slip from the fingers until the fusible link connection between the lever arms has parted so as to permit the fingers to be disengaged from the slots.

The construction shown in Fig. 3 is substantially the same as that shown in Fig. 1, except that there is no bracket upon which the lever arms I) and c are pivoted and that the guards, to prevent the accidental disengagement of the chain links from the fingers b and c of the lever arms are formed by additional fingers b and 0 which cooperate with the fingers 0 and b respectively to prevent the disengagement of the chain links.

The construction shown in Fig. 4C is similar to that shown in Fig. 3, but the fingers 6 and 0 which engage the parts of the chain are formed on the same side of the pivot (Z with the arms 6 and 0 and the guard fingers b and 0 are similarly formed on the lever arms I) and 0 respectively.

In the construction shown in Figs. 5 and 6, the several parts are formed of bent wire. The lever arms 6 and c, which are connected by the fusible link a at their free ends, instead of being pivoted directly together, are pivotally mounted upon an intermediate member 9, also formed of bent wire. The two lever arms are formed in a manner similar to that indicated in Fig. 4

lever arms to separate, the parts of the chain are immediately disengaged from the fingers of the lever arms and are permitted to run freely through guides or over guide pulleys carrying with them nothing which can interfere with such free running.

It will be understood that the invention is capable of embodiment in forms other than those shown in the drawing, as convenience in manufacture and requirements of use may render desirable.

I claim as my invention:

1. A fusible link device constituting in effect, a link of a chain connection, comprising two independent lever arms pivotally connected and having fingers on the shorter lever arms adapted to engage with said chain connection and to release the same upon relative movement of the lever arms, and a fusible link connecting the longer lever arms.

2. A fusible link device constituting in effect, a link of a chain connection, comprising two independent lever arms pivotally connected and having fingers on the shorter lever arms" adapted to engage with said chain connection and to release the same upon relative movement of the lever arms, a bracket on which said device is supported, and a fusible link connecting the longer lever arms.

3. A fusible link device comprising two independent lever arms pivotally connected and having fingers to engage chain connections, guards to prevent the accidental disengagement of the chains from said fingers, and a fusible link connecting said lever arms.

4. A fusible link device comprising a supporting bracket having a slotted lip, lever arms pivoted together upon said bracket and having fingers to engage chain connections and to enter the slots in said lip, and a fusible link connecting said lever arms.

This specification signed and witnessed this ninth day of June, A. D. 1911.

WILLIAM POPPENDIEOK.

Signed in the presence of WM. F. WVHITTAKER, FREDERICK KoHBERTz.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. G. 

